Alexander Gustafsson had a two-fight winning streak snapped at UFC 232 with a loss to Jon Jones. Gustafsson will try to get back in the win column this Saturday when he faces Anthony Smith in the main event of UFC Fight Night 153.
Gustafsson vs. Smith UFC Fight Night odds, betting preview
Alexander Gustafsson faces Anthony Smith as the clear betting favorite at sportsbooks in the main event of UFC Fight Night 153 on Saturday night.
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The Sweden native will have the home crowd behind him as a -305 favorite on the UFC odds in Stockholm at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Gustaffson’s MMA career got off to an impressive 15-1 start that included a 7-1 run through the UFC, picking up wins over Thiago Silva and Mauricio Silva to earn a title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 165. The light heavyweight lost that fight and is just 3-3 in his last six fights since then.
All four of Gustaffson’s last four losses have come against elite talent in two losses to Jones, one to Daniel Cormier and one to Anthony Johnson. The 6’4” boxing specialist is better than his recent record indicates, but still a step behind the upper echelon of this division.
Anthony Smith (+235 at online betting sites) joined the UFC with a 24-11 record as a professional and has done well in the organization with a 7-3 record. He received a title shot against Jon Jones at UFC 235 and was thoroughly dominated. Saturday, he’ll try to bounce back from that disappointing showing with an upset win over Gustaffson.
Volkan Oezdemir came into the UFC with a 12-1 record and kicked off his career in the organization with three straight wins over Ovince St. Preux, Misha Cirkunov and Jimi Manuwa. But since then, Oezdemir has lost each of his last three fights including the UFC Fight Night 138 main event against Anthony Smith. Oezdemir is a -130 betting favorite on Saturday against Sweden native Ilir Latifi (+100), who is 14-6 as a professional and 5-2 over his last seven fights.
Rounding out the main card are Aleksandar Rakic (-225) vs. Jimi Manuwa (+175), Chris Fishgold (-130) vs. Makwan Amirkhani (+100) and Sung Bin Jo (-150) vs. Daniel Teymur (+120). Sung Bin Jo is making his UFC debut on Saturday and is a perfect 9-0 through his first nine professional fights.
UFC 236 Betting Lines
Alexander Gustafsson (-305) vs. Anthony Smith (+235)
Volkan Oezdemir (-130) vs. Ilir Latifi (+100)
Aleksandar Rakic (-225) vs. Jimi Manuwa (+175)
Chris Fishgold (-130) vs. Makwan Amirkhani (+100)
Sung Bin Jo (-150) vs. Daniel Teymur (+120)
For more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast. Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify or listen to it at OddsShark.libsyn.com.
